“Xiakhan wears armor imbued with the power of the blue dragon in the parallel world where the energy of the Dragon Clan is still not constrained. In a world where the Dragon Clan still rules the world and the Dragon Emperor has not gone mad, Xiakhan who wears armor imbued with the power of the blue dragon dictates the battlefield like no other.”

In preparation for the release of the Green Land Signature Force update, Line Games released the revamped fatecore for the fated hero Xiakhan. Although a defense type hero, Xiakhan is unique in that he is more of a frontline bruiser with the ability to deal damage. This is reflected in his stats as he has less HP/Defense/Block than other defense types. However, his base attack/hit/dodge/speed stats are higher than most defense types. While many may find it difficult to place him in a team given his lack of defensive ability, his synergy with Rachel’s Dishearten mark and potential damage under a Lenombe Signature Force national team makes him a solid choice for a team with a Balanced Frontline formation (3 Frontline units and 2 Backline units). Let's review what his new fatecore upgrades to see if it will allow him to replace a potential backline damage dealer.  

Fatecore base stat bonus

As you can see above, the stat bonus he receives from his fatecore is significant. Although it is a very expensive and resource hungry task to fatecore enhance to level 30, the added bonus to his attack, defense, and HP are significant for his unique skill set. Overall he is fairly balanced as he is more of a hybrid tank/attack type. As he is a fated grade hero you cannot increase his base stats further via Unleash Potential in the Hero Journal. However, he is recruitable through the Scouting system so free to play players have an easier chance at building him to a +5 transcendence. 

Upgraded passive and skill damage from core reverse 

Let’s review “Blue Dragon’s Descent” Xiakhan’s unique skill set provided by his new revamped fatecore:

Passive — Thrust 3 (Added effect Blue Dragon’s Protection)

• Deals damage (30%) and afflicts Stun to the attacker upon taking damage (5 turn(s)) when hit.
• Gains Mana (1 mana) additionally if the target's Health is at 80% or more.
• Removes 1 mana from the target and then Gains Mana (1 mana) to you if the targets Health is at 30% or less.

• Harbinger of Awakening
• Afflicts Mark of Revenge to an enemy that killed an ally.
• This buff is removed when the target with Mark of Revenge is killed or damaged by Harbinger of Awakening and activates the Awakening effects of all allies with the Awakening skill.

• Awakening: Blue Dragon's Descent
• [Buff] Increases own Block by 360, decreases Critical Hit by 180.
• [Special] Increases Attack Speed by 25 and gains Damage Immunity for 4 turns when Health is at or below 30%.

• Blue Dragon’s Protection
• Increases Block of all allies by 150% of own Block for 1 Round (removed when ally is attacked)

Active 1 — Dragon’s Anger (Damage upgraded from 300% to 375% to single target.)

• [Single] Deals 375% damage to 1 enemy.
• [Decimate] Guarantees Critical Hit if the target is Disheartened.

Active 2 — Deluged Dragon (Damage upgraded from 210% Backrow targets to 255% damage to all enemies.)

• [Back Row First] Deals 210% damage to all back row enemies.
• [Decimate] Guarantees Critical Hit if the target is Disheartened.

The additional passive bonus, Blue Dragon’s Protection, definitely has a benefit in today’s Signature Force national team meta. Even more so now that the Green Land Signature Force has been released. Although it may seem like a bit underwhelming at first glance, the strength lies in the damage reduction provided by a blocked attack. This essentially gives your entire team a significant damage reduction against their first hit, which can be utilized in all content. This is more important in PVP, but we will touch on that later. In addition, his increase in damage multipliers and change to his active 2 skill has cemented his position as a frontline damage dealer. Although his attack is not high enough to do significant damage on his own, his true strength is in his synergy with Rachel and Dishearten. 

Synergy with Rachel and Dishearten 

Although not exclusive to his fatecore, the decimate ability from his active 1 and active 2 skills is where Xiakhan shines as a damage dealer. However, this relies completely on pairing Xiakhan with Rachel as the Decimate ability only activates when attacking an enemy unit with Dishearten, Rachel’s unique mark. The ability to land a critical hit 100% of the time provides a huge increase in the damage potential of Xiakhan. In addition, if you were lucky enough to build a Signature Force team around Rachel and the Lenombe nation, then Xiakhan becomes an even greater offensive threat as his 100% critical hit chance will apply to the added elemental damage as well. When awakened and fully geared with ranked fated armor, Xiakhan can easily replace a backline attack type if you pair him with Rachel. 

Blue Dragon’s Descent a great counter to first turn cleaves in PVP 

Although his true strength lies in his damage dealing capability in a Lenombe national team, the block bonus from Blue Dragon’s Protection should not be ignored. This ability can significantly hinder an opposing team’s ability to AOE cleave your team in round 1, which most higher level players attempt in PVP content with Signature Force national teams. Although not a 100% chance to block, the added block is enough to use Xiakhan as a counter to enemy Reras, Devas, Jinns, etc. in arena tag weeks. It’s also strong enough to use him on defense to prevent a first round wipe and potentially come back with a win utilizing a strong second round nuke if you have a strong enough Rachel on your team. 

The verdict

Given the updates to his passive, it is clear the intent for Xiakhan is to be utilized as a frontline damage dealer. While this does make him unique when compared to other heroes in the game, his strength relies on synergy with Rachel who many players may not have in their arsenal. That said, the added passive bonus does give him viability to those lucky enough to recruit him without Rachel. Those having difficulty climbing the PVP ladder with no answer to the Rera’s/Deva’s or other speed cleave teams will now have a hard counter to survive the first round wipe. His upgrade has definitely given him value that he lacked before and players who recruited him early should take him out of storage and build him as a second or third frontline option. 

• Increase in damage multipliers solidified his usage as a frontline damage dealer. 

• Strength as a frontline damage dealer relies on a team revolving around Rachel and his Dishearten mark. A Lenombe Signature Force team will allow him to add critical hits with elemental damage as well. 

• New passive bonus is great for PVP purposes preventing an instant wipe from enemy cleave teams. Otherwise no real strength in PVE content, but not useless.

• A strong option for a second or third tag team frontline team to counter multiple speed cleave teams.